3-d shoe with ventilation

ABSTRACT

An improved 3-D shoe includes an outsole, an air pad, a midsole and an insole; wherein the outsole has a heel section and a sole section; a first air compartment containing air ducts is formed at the sole section; the midsole is placed above the outsole; the insole is placed above the midsole; the air pad is placed below the insole and above the heel section and provided with an air outlet. The improvement comprises a second air compartment, containing air ducts, being integrally formed at the heel section; a communicating duct being defined between the first air compartment and the second air compartment; and a ventilating hole being provided in one of the air ducts of the second air compartment at a lateral side of the outsole, such that the ambient air can enter the shoe through the ventilating hole to keep the user&#39;s foot fully dry.

(A) TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an improved 3-D shoe with ventilation and, more particularly, to an improved shoe that has a sole including a second air compartment integrally formed at the heel section of the outsole, and a communicating duct defined between the first air compartment and the second air compartment for mutual communication therebetween, such that the user's foot can be maintained fully dry.

(B) DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

To leave a user without a feel of mugginess or discomfort after a long period of time in wearing a shoe, various shoes have been disclosed, such as Taiwan Utility Model patent App. No. 092220870 and the corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 6,948,260. The disclosure relates to a 3-D air-pumping shoe, which has a first and a second chambers respectively on the rear and the front of the outsole; wherein at least one ventilation outlet is disposed on the side walls of both chambers for external connection; two air units are respectively disposed in the first chamber and the second chamber, each air unit containing multiple laterally disposed air ducts that connects through those ventilation outlets on the side walls of the outsole; a waterproof air permeable film and an air permeable cushion are paved in sequence above each air unit.

However, the disclosed shoe requires two separate air cushions to be paved in the outsole. This brings a more complicated process in the manufacturing as well as an increased cost and time. Thus, there is a need for improvement.

In view of the foregoing, after constant efforts on the research and innovation, the applicant has contrived an improved 3-D shoe with ventilation to simplify the manufacturing process and reduce the manufacturing cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved 3-D shoe with ventilation. The shoe has a sole including: an outsole, an air pad, a midsole and an insole; wherein the outsole is composed of a heel section at rear part thereof and a sole section at front part thereof; a first air compartment containing a plurality of air ducts is formed at the sole section of the outsole; the midsole is placed above the outsole; the insole 40 is placed above the midsole; the air pad is placed below the insole and above the heel section of the outsole and provided with an air outlet; the improvement comprises: a second air compartment, containing a plurality of air ducts, being integrally formed at the heel section of the outsole; a communicating duct being defined between the first air compartment and the second air compartment for mutual communication therebetween and for communicating with the air outlet of the air pad; a ventilating hole being provided in one of the air ducts at a lateral side of the outsole in flush with a bottom surface of the one of the air ducts, such that the ambient air can enter the interior of the shoe to keep the foot fully dry and let the user feel comfortable.

The primary features of the present invention reside in that: the first air compartment containing a plurality of air ducts and the second air compartment containing a plurality of air ducts are integrally formed at the sole section and the heel section of the outsole respectively; and a communicating duct is defined between the first air compartment and the second air compartment to enable them to communicate with each other. According to the present invention, the outsole can be integrally manufactured without the need of combining separate parts as disclosed in the prior art. Thus, the manufacturing process can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. It is believed that the present invention is industrially applicable and with novel features.

Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a 3-dimensional view of the present invention according to FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a 3-dimensional view of an insole employed in the present invention, which mainly shows the backside of the insole.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along 4-4 in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, an improved 3-D shoe with ventilation according to the present invention is disclosed. As shown, the 3-D shoe includes a sole having an outsole 10, an air pad 20, a midsole 30 and an insole 40; wherein the outsole 10 is composed of a heel section 10 a at rear part thereof and a sole section 10 b at front part thereof. A first air compartment 11 b containing a plurality of air ducts 111 b is integrally formed at the sole section 10 b of the outsole 10. The midsole 30 is placed above the outsole 10. The insole 40 is placed above the midsole 30. The air pad 20 is placed below the insole 40 and above the heel section 10 a of the outsole 10 and provided with an air outlet 21. The improvement resides in that a second air compartment 11 a containing a plurality of air ducts 111 a is formed integrally at the heel section 10 a of the outsole 10. A communicating duct 12 is defined between the first air compartment 11 b and the second air compartment 11 a for communication between the first air compartment 11 b and the second air compartment 11 a and for communicating with the air outlet 21 of the air pad 20. In the second air compartment 11 a of the outsole 10, a ventilating hole 13 is provided in one of the air ducts 111 a at a lateral side of the outsole 10 in flush with a bottom surface of the one of the air ducts 111 a to communicate with the ambient. Thus, on repetitive compression of the air pad 20, the ambient air can be drawn through the ventilating hole 13 into the air duct 111 a and then to the first air compartment 11 b of the heel section 10 b via the communicating duct 12, so as to replace the air within the shoe completely and thus keep the foot fully dry and let the user feel comfortable.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, the air ducts 111 a of the second air compartment 11 a of the heel section 10 a each has a bottom surface 110, which commences halfway between two lateral sides of the outsole 10 and goes down to each lateral side. At least one ventilating hole 13 is provided at one lateral side of the outsole 10 in flush with the bottom surface, such that water spreading into the shoe can flow out of the shoe by way of the downward bottom surface 110 of the air duct 111 a through the ventilating hole 13, so as to keep the interior of the shoe in dry condition.

According to the improved 3-D shoe of the present invention, the outsole 10 defines a concaved space 14 at the heel section 10 a. The concaved space 14 has a shape substantially conforming to the air pad 20, such that the air pad 20 can be firmly placed over the outsole 10.

According to the improved 3-D shoe of the present invention, the midsole 30 defines an opening 31 at rear part thereof to enable the air pad 20 to bulge out of the midsole 30. Moreover, the midsole 30 is provided with a plurality of pores 32 such that the air circulating within a space between the outsole 10 and the midsole 30 can flow out through the pores 32.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the insole 40 includes a main body 41 having a plurality of air pockets 42 formed on one side of the main body. The main body 41 further includes a plurality of protrusions 43, which are positioned corresponding to the boundaries of air pockets 42, formed on the other side of the main body so as to define a plurality of air cells 40 a therebetween. The main body 41 is further provided with a plurality of through holes 44, each being positioned at a junction area to which the associated protrusions extend, whereby each through hole 44 is allowed to communicate with adjacent air cells. Furthermore, the main body 41 is provided with a bulged press portion 45 to be placed over the air pad 20. Accordingly, when the user is walking, the air pockets 42 and the bulged press portion 45 can be compressed to enhance the air ventilation of the shoe. In addition to the above-mentioned component, other insoles can be employed in the present invention as well.

According to the improved 3-D shoe of the present invention, the primary features reside in that: the first air compartment 11 b containing a plurality of air ducts 111 b and the second air compartment 11 a containing a plurality of air ducts 111 a are integrally formed at the sole section 10 b and the heel section 10 a of the outsole 10 respectively; and a communicating duct 12 is defined between the first air compartment 11 b and the second air compartment 11 a to enable them to communicate with each other. Accordingly, the outsole 10 can be integrally manufactured without combination of separate parts as disclosed in the prior art. Thus, the manufacturing process can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. It is believed that the present invention is industrially applicable and with novel features.

Although the present invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure is made by way of example only and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention hereinafter claimed. 

1. An improved shoe including an outsole, an air pad, a midsole, and an insole; wherein the outsole has a heel section at rear part thereof and a sole section at front part thereof; a first air compartment containing a plurality of air ducts is integrally formed at the sole section of the outsole; the midsole is placed above the outsole; the insole is placed above the midsole; and the air pad is placed below the insole and above the heel section of the outsole and provided with an air outlet; the improvement comprising: a second air compartment, containing a plurality of air ducts, being integrally formed at the heel section of the outsole; a communicating duct defined between the first air compartment and the second air compartment for mutual communication between the first air compartment and the second air compartment and for communicating with the air outlet of the air pad; and a ventilating hole provided in one of the air ducts of the second air compartment for communicating with ambient air.
 2. The improved shoe of claim 1, wherein the air ducts of the second air compartment of the outsole section each has a bottom surface which commences halfway between two lateral sides of the outsole and goes down to each lateral side of the outsole; and wherein the ventilating hole is provided in one of the air ducts of the second air compartment at a lateral side of the outsole in flush with the bottom surface.
 3. The improved shoe of claim 1, wherein the outsole defines a concaved space at the heel section of the outsole, the concaved space has a shape substantially conforming to the air pad, such that the air pad can be firmly placed over the outsole. 